Galapagos acquires Cangenix, a structure-based drug discovery company
Mechelen, Belgium and Canterbury, UK; 15 January 2013 - Galapagos NV (Euronext:
GLPG) and Cangenix Ltd announced today that Galapagos has acquired Cangenix to
add structure-based drug discovery to the Argenta service offering. Cangenix's
state-of-the-art technology will augment Argenta's ability to design new drugs
and fill a growing client need.
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Galapagos will pay a total cash
consideration of £1 million, with a further £440,000 potential earn out payment
contingent upon achievement of certain conditions. Argenta will integrate all
of Cangenix's assets, know-how, personnel and service contracts. The activities
will be added to Argenta's capabilities in hit finding and medicinal chemistry.
The Cangenix team of 4 staff will join Argenta but will continue to operate the
platform in its premises in Canterbury, securing a smooth transition of the
business. The acquisition will contribute to the Argenta revenues and profit
for 2013.
"We welcome the Cangenix team and their clients to the Galapagos group," said
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO of Galapagos. "The assets and expertise of Cangenix
really address a growing client need at Argenta. We look forward to extending
and expanding this business."
"I am confident that Cangenix's expertise in structure-based drug discovery
services will enable Argenta to design better drugs for clients," added Prof
David Brown, CEO, Cangenix Ltd.
About structure-based drug discovery
Structure-based drug discovery has been utilized within the pharmaceutical
industry for over twenty-five years. It plays an important role in drug
discovery, design and lead optimization. More recently its role in hit-finding
has been highlighted with the advent of fragment based drug discovery with the
potential to deliver more efficient hits and lead series. The technology
provides knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of drug targets. Once the
structure of the target is known, potential drugs are designed to 'fit-in' to
the drug target, optimizing the interactions and facilitating the development of
high-quality drug candidates.
About Galapagos
Galapagos (Euronext: GLPG; OTC: GLPYY) is a mid-size clinical stage
biotechnology company specialized in the discovery and development of small
molecule and antibody therapies with a novel mode-of-action. The Company is
progressing four clinical, six pre-clinical, and 30 discovery programs in cystic
fibrosis, inflammation, antibiotics, metabolic disease, Â and other indications.
Its lead program is GLPG0634, an orally-available, selective inhibitor of JAK1,
for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and potentially other inflammatory
diseases. Â In two four-week Phase 2 studies, GLPG0634 showed improvement in the
signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and a unique safety profile. Â A 6
month Phase 2b study is expected to start Q2 2013 with top line data expected in
Q4 2014. AbbVie and Galapagos signed a worldwide license agreement whereby
AbbVie will be responsible for further development and commercialization after
Phase 2b. Â Galapagos is also progressing two other clinical development programs
with clinical readouts expected in 2013: GLPG0187, a novel integrin receptor
antagonist in development for metastasis, is in a Phase 1b patient study;
GLPG0974 is the first inhibitor of GPR43 to be evaluated clinically for the
treatment of IBD. This program is in a second Phase 1 study and will start a
Proof of Concept Phase 2 study in Q2 2013.
The Galapagos Group, including fee-for-service companies BioFocus, Argenta and
Fidelta, has over 800 employees and operates facilities in five countries, with
global headquarters in Mechelen, Belgium. Further information about the company
and its drug development programs can be found online at: www.glpg.com
About Argenta
Argenta is a fully-integrated drug discovery services provider and a trusted
partner for many world-leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
Argenta combines a comprehensive range of discovery services with multiple
disease area expertise including respiratory, oncology, pain and inflammatory
disease, providing a compelling combination of scientific excellence, a full in
vitro and in vivo pharmacology and DMPK capability, cutting edge medicinal
chemistry thinking and cost-effectiveness. Â Argenta employs over 145 scientists
in the UK with an average of 17 years' pharmaceutical drug discovery expertise.
More information at: www.argentadiscovery.com
About Cangenix
Cangenix is a profitable gene-to-structure biotech company that provides drug
discovery services to a rapidly growing client list. It was formed in 2011 by
scientists from the Structural Biology and Biophysics group at Pfizer Sandwich,
UK. Cangenix is a located in Canterbury, Kent. Recognized as experts in the
field, the Cangenix team brings over 70 years of combined experience in the
application of protein crystallography and biophysical techniques to drug
discovery. Cangenix provides a range of crystallographic and biophysical
techniques, such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and isothermal titration
calorimetry (ITC), using tailored biological reagents to accelerate the
understanding of compound-target interactions and utilize structural, kinetic
and thermodynamic data to inform drug design. More information at
www.cangenix.com
CONTACTS
Galapagos NV
Onno van de Stolpe, CEO
Tel. +31 62 909 8028
e-mail: ir@glpg.com
Cangenix Ltd.
Dave Brown. CEO
Tel. +44 1227 823 475
e-mail: dave.brown@cangenix.com
Galapagos forward-looking statements
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or achievements of Galapagos, or industry results, to be materially different
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Source: Galapagos NV via Thomson Reuters ONE
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